At least 15 people have died in recent clashes between two tribes in northwestern Pakistan, according to a local official on Tuesday.
The violence, which has reignited a deadly land dispute, involved heavy weaponry, including mortar shells, and occurred in Kurram district near the Afghanistan border, where similar conflicts took place in July.
A senior administrative official in Kurram, speaking anonymously, explained that the conflict involves one Sunni and one Shia tribe, escalating the situation into a sectarian clash.
Since Saturday, 15 fatalities have been reported, with the Associated Press of Pakistan noting around 20 additional injuries.
Kurram district, previously a semi-autonomous area, has a long history of violent clashes between Sunni and Shiite tribes, resulting in hundreds of casualties over the years.
The last bout of violence in July resulted in 35 deaths and only ceased after a jirga (tribal council) mediated a ceasefire, with officials now working to negotiate a new truce.
While tribal and familial disputes are common in Pakistan, they tend to be particularly drawn-out and violent in the mountainous region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities adhere to traditional tribal honor codes.
In Pakistan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, the Shia community has reported long-standing discrimination and violence against them.
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